U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,497 describes in detail a connector receptacle of a type which is intended for use in the telephone industry. The receptacle described in this patent comprises an insulating housing having a plug-receiving end and a plug-receiving opening extending into the plug-receiving end. A plurality of circular openings extend through the housing from the plug-receiving end to the rearward end of the housing and contact springs extending from these circular openings diagonally into the plug-receiving opening so that when a plug is inserted into the receptacle, the contact members on the plug will engage the contact springs. The contact springs are in the form of wires and are connected by means of crimped electrical connections to lead wires. These crimped connections are contained in the circular openings in the housing and the lead wires extend from the circular openings and away from the housing at the rearward end thereof. The commonly used type of connector plug which is intended to be mated with connector receptacles of the type described above is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,954,320.
The connector receptacle described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,497 has been widely adopted in the telephone industry and it is being used to an increasing extent on equipment other than telephone equipment, for example, data processing equipment which may be installed adjacent to a telephone exchange, small computers, and similar equipment. The use of these connector receptacles in such related equipment often requires that the receptacle be mounted on a circuit board, but the connector receptacle shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,497 cannot be readily or easily connected to conductors on a circuit board.
Application Ser. No. 940,536 discloses and claims a connector receptacle of the general class which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,497, and which is dimensioned to receive a connector plug as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,954,320. The receptacle disclosed in application Ser. No. 940,536 has stamped and formed electrical conductors therein rather than the wire type conductors of U.S. Pat. No. 3,850,497 and one end of each stamped and formed conductor extends beyond the housing of the connector so that the connector can be mounted on a circuit board with the ends of the conductors extending into openings in the circuit board. These ends of the conductors can then be soldered to conductors on the circuit board in the usual manner.
The connector receptacle shown in Application Ser. No. 940,536 is constructed such that when it is mounted on the circuit board, the conductors extend from an internal sidewall of the housing which is proximate to the circuit board and the plug must be inserted in an orientation such that the latch arm of the plug is remote from the circuit board; i.e., after the plug has been fully inserted into the receptacle, the position of the latch arm is immediately apparent and the plug can be removed by simply depressing the latch arm and pulling the plug from the receptacle.
This arrangement is desirable under many circumstances, particularly where it is necessary that the plug be inserted and removed from the receptacle frequently. However, under some circumstances the manufacturer of the equipment requiring connector receptacles prefers that the connectors be in an orientation such that removal of the connector plug is discouraged rather than encouraged. For example, where the plug and connector receptacle part of the circuit is relatively permanent and the plug will be removed only infrequently for extensive servicing. Under such circumstances, removal of the plug by a person unfamiliar with the equipment with accompanying damage or deactivation of the equipment will be discouraged. The present invention is therefore directed to the achievement of a connector receptacle which is intended for mounting on a circuit board and which receives a connector plug in an orientation such that the latch arm on the plug is proximate to the surface of the circuit board so that removal of the plug from the receptacle will not be encouraged.
A connector receptacle in accordance with the invention comprises an insulating housing having a plug-receiving opening extending therethrough from its plug-receiving end to its rearward end. Stamped and formed conductors are mounted in and on the housing, each conductor having a first end portion which serves as a contact spring and which extends from the location between one internal sidewall of the opening and one external sidewall of the housing diagonally into the plug-receiving opening. An intermediate portion of each conductor extends across the one external sidewall and then across the rearward end of the housing so that the other end of each conductor projects beyond the other external sidewall. The connector is intended for mounting on a circuit board with the other external sidewall adjacent to the surface of the board so that when a plug member is inserted into the plug-receiving opening, the latch arm of the plug will be adjacent to the surface of the circuit board and, therefore, not immediately accessible for removal although the plug can be removed when required.